Lost and Found
by Lisa-la
Summary: Pre-series. Faced with a school bully and a looming public speaking project, Jeremy finds that there is a right way to meet a challenge, and a wrong way.
1. Chapter 1

Lost and Found

Jeremy Bolt started the long walk back to the logging camp oblivious to the green, leafy signs of early spring around him. School today had been an ordeal, but then it had been all year. At least it was Thursday, and only one more day before the weekend. He didn't mind the actual classes so much. He did well enough with his lessons, especially geography and literature. But when the time came to read aloud or recite, he found himself sliding further and further down in his seat, hoping not to be noticed.

There was a new teacher in Seattle this year, Miss Essie Halliday, and she was kind enough to Jeremy, and understood that his stuttering made him painfully self-conscious and shy; but she made a point of treating all her students equally, and she didn't tolerate poor posture, either. So she called on him occasionally, and none of the other boys dared tease him in her presence. They waited until recess or after school. And since Jeremy's older brother and self-appointed protector, Joshua, finished school last spring, they now considered the fourteen-year-old an easy target.

It had started as small things, mimicking him from across the schoolyard, making faces and laughing behind him when he took his turn reading the lesson, and had progressed to more malicious conduct, such as stealing his lunch and hiding his coat. It made him angry as well as embarrassed, but he had heard his oldest brother, Jason, lecture Joshua often on how school was for learning, not fighting, and he knew such behavior would be frowned on, to say the least.

With the new year, it got even worse. Miss Halliday had decided just after Christmas to hold a Family Night in the spring, a sort of open house when all the families could come and see what the students had been working on all year. Everyone was expected to participate: the younger students were preparing decorations and choosing the best of their work to be put on display, and the older students were each expected to prepare a project on a topic that interested them. Not only was Jeremy terrified of speaking in front of a room full of people, but everyone in Seattle knew it. This gave the tormentors even more ammunition, and as Family Night approached, Jeremy became increasingly panicked about it.

Today, he had finally reached the end of his tolerance. Several of the boys decided to make a lunchtime game of sitting near him and carrying on all conversation with the worst stutters they could possibly manage. He moved away from them repeatedly, but they kept following him, and finally he had had enough. Before he even realized what he was doing, he had spun around and punched Harry Kinkade right in the nose.

Stunned silence descended on the schoolyard, as did Miss Halliday, who had stepped out to call her little class back from lunch in time to see the whole thing. After pulling Harry to his feet and admonishing him to find his handkerchief and see to his bloody nose, she turned to Jeremy, who was every bit as bewildered as everyone else, and he thought he saw disappointment in her dark eyes.

"I'll see you after school, Mr. Bolt," she said pointedly, and then began herding the others into the schoolhouse. Jeremy considered running, but only for an instant; and before he could have made the attempt, Miss Halliday caught him by the elbow and escorted him in herself.

He had stayed after school, staring at the floor and mumbling what he hoped were appropriate responses to her lecture; he wasn't really paying attention until she extended a folded piece of paper to him and held it there until he took it.

It was a note for Jason, now tucked into Jeremy's arithmetic book as he headed up the mountain trail. He had carefully avoided telling his brothers about the trouble at school, at first wanting to handle it himself – but how do you handle a bully? And most of what Harry and Jack said, and convinced the others to say, was true; Jeremy did stutter, and trying to respond to their taunts only made it worse, which only made them laugh harder. He _did_ sound stupid, he _couldn't_ get two words out without tripping over them, and he couldn't even keep people from making fun of him about it. But his brothers thought everything was fine at school, and in the end, he'd decided to keep it that way.

Now, though, he would have to explain it. He was too honest to just "lose" the note; besides, as awful as it was going to be to tell Jason and Josh what was going on, it would be a million times worse to have Miss Halliday come up to the camp and tell them herself. Maybe he could just wait until after dinner. Then the two hired loggers who worked for Jason would have left for the night, and he'd only have to tell the whole humiliating story to his brothers. Until then, Jeremy knew he could lose himself in his chores around camp, and forget about school for a while.

A rustle in the bushes alongside the trail drew his attention from thoughts of the evening ahead, and he slowed his pace and peered warily into the shadowy underbrush down the hill to his right. He tried to remember if he'd heard any stories of bears in the area this spring. They should be coming out of hibernation now, and foraging for food; but he couldn't recall any such tales. Perhaps it was a deer, then. It sounded too large for a rabbit ….

The mystery was solved when a familiar voice came out of the shadows, and the creature revealed itself to be no more dangerous than a bear, but certainly no less so.

"J-J-J-Jeremy!"

Great. It was Harry. Disgusted, Jeremy turned back up the trail and started walking. He didn't want to get into this again.

"W-W-What's the m-m-matter, J-J-Jeremy?" called a second voice – Jack, Jeremy realized.

"He's a b-b-big ch-ch-chicken!" came Harry's voice again. Both boys came out of hiding to catch up with Jeremy, flanking him on either side. "Good thing Miss Halliday came to your rescue, J-J-Jeremy. Otherwise I would have plastered you."

Privately, Jeremy doubted Harry could manage that alone. Jeremy was somewhat smaller than the older boy, but helping out around the camp – as a "logger's apprentice," Jason called it – for the last four years had helped make him stronger than most other boys at school. Harry's family had come out from the East last summer to farm, and while farming was hard work, it wasn't logging. But Harry wasn't alone; he always had Jack or someone else with him, and that made all the difference. Jeremy kept walking, refusing to look at either of them.

"Did you like staying after school?" Jack continued the taunting. "I think he's s-sweet on M-Miss H-H-H-Halliday, Harry."

Harry slapped Jeremy's shoulder roughly, and Jeremy stumbled a little, but kept ignoring them.

"Nah," he replied. "Even J-J-Jeremy couldn't be sweet on that four-eyed old maid."

Jeremy stopped cold in the middle of the trail. Miss Halliday did wear glasses, but he thought she was kind of pretty behind her wire frames, and she wasn't very old at all. Furthermore, Jeremy had learned long ago, through personal experience, that you couldn't judge people on outward appearances. She had never been anything but helpful and kind to any of her students since she came to Seattle, even the two on the trail with Jeremy now. And besides, that was no way to talk about a lady.

He turned to face Harry. "T-Take that back."

Harry grinned at finally getting a rise out of his prey. "W-W-What was that, J-J-Jeremy?"

"T-T-Take that b-back..." He wanted to say more – a lot more – but knew better than to try to talk to these two.

"He _is_ sweet on her!" Jack crowed, delighted.

"He'd have to be," Harry replied, laughing. "No one else would want J-J-Jeremy anyway!"

Suddenly, he was as angry as he had been in the schoolyard that afternoon, and more so. He forgot the note for Jason, his chores, his homework, everything. He started for Harry, and the two boys ran from him, laughing as they dashed off the trail and down the mountainside. Jeremy dropped his books and lunch pail at the edge of the trail and chased after them. They couldn't get away from him here – this was Bridal Veil Mountain, his home – and he'd be able to find them, wherever they went, and make them take back every mean thing they'd ever said about anyone.

He could see them up ahead, hurdling a random stack of fallen pines and calling to him: "J-J-J-Jeremy!" They disappeared into the underbrush, still laughing; intent on catching them, Jeremy jumped onto the uppermost of the pines, pushing himself off the other side.

He realized something was wrong immediately; his foot slipped on wet bark, and the big tree trunk began to roll under him. Unable to stop his forward momentum, he fell facedown on the forest floor, the wind knocked out of him and a huge weight coming down heavily on his legs.

After a moment, he was able to catch his breath, and he pushed himself up on his elbows and strained to see what had him pinned, brushing pine needles out of his face as he looked over his shoulder. The pine trunk from the top of the little pile had rolled down onto his lower legs. He didn't think he was hurt – most of the tree's weight seemed to be supported by something else – but he couldn't pull his legs out. What if Harry and Jack came back and found him here, trapped and unable to get away from them or defend himself? Wiggling around, he managed to get his left shoulder under him and pull that arm around in front, then bent at the waist and tried to lift the tree using his hands. As it became increasingly obvious that this method wouldn't work, he began to panic in earnest, struggling until he collapsed breathlessly on the damp leaves and pine needles beneath him. Frantically, he tried again, with the same result, and after a few more attempts, he gave it up as useless.

_All right, get a hold of yourself. What would Jason do? _Giving that a few minutes' thought while he caught his breath again, he looked around the immediate area. Spotting a fallen branch behind him, he reached back with his right arm to snag it. It was hard to get to, since he couldn't roll onto his back with his legs pinned, but he finally managed to get his fingertips around it and pull it over to him. Jamming one end under the tree trunk, he started lifting. The trunk shifted a bit, and he tried harder, preparing to pull himself free at the first opportunity – and the branch broke, the sudden lack of resistance pulling his left elbow out from under him and dropping him onto his shoulder as the trunk settled back into place.

Discouraged, he lay quietly for a while, thinking malevolent thoughts about turning this trunk into firewood. If this wasn't the stupidest thing he'd ever done, he couldn't think what was. Not only had he gotten into a fight at school, ensuring that Jason and Joshua would find out about the teasing; now he had gone chasing after the same boys who had provoked him before, and in the process gotten himself pinned under a tree.

He knew that when he didn't make it to camp by suppertime, his brothers would come looking for him. He couldn't remember how far off the trail he was, and he couldn't see it from here. He thought he was close enough to hear them when they called for him, though. He'd just have to make himself comfortable, since he was apparently not going anywhere for a few hours. He folded his arms across his chest and settled in to wait. A perfect ending to a perfectly awful day.

XXXX

Jason Bolt glared down the trail that led into town, willing the gathering twilight to produce his youngest brother. He could smell Joshua's stew simmering behind him, and coffee, as well. Before long it would be dark, and ordinarily he would be preparing to share an evening meal with his brothers, talking and laughing about things they had seen and done during the day. Then they would clear up and he and Josh would see to any repairs their logging equipment might need while Jeremy did his homework, and later Jason would look over the boy's lessons with him before they settled in for the night.

But tonight there was no Jeremy. True, he had been dragging in later and later, these last few weeks, but this was unusual in the extreme. Sighing his frustration, Jason turned and rejoined Josh by the fire in front of the tent that was their home during most of the logging season.

"He had better have a really good reason for this."

"Maybe he went to the cabin, instead," Josh suggested. The Bolt brothers kept a cabin closer to town, where they stayed during the winter months and when it was too cold or wet to live in camp.

Jason looked down at his brother where he crouched by the cook fire, stirring the stew. "Why on earth would he do a thing like that?"

Josh shrugged and studied the contents of his stewpot, carefully noncommittal. "Well, he hasn't been sleeping that well up here the last month or so; maybe he decided to try a different bed."

"He hasn't –" Jason stopped mid-sentence, settling slowly to a log-seat by the fire and staring blankly into the flames, feeling the familiar weight of being the oldest settle over him again. Leave it to Josh to see a problem he'd missed.

It was hard work, raising two teenage boys when not so long ago you were one yourself. He and Josh butted heads every few weeks, over the logging business, usually; and Jeremy seemed inclined to take just about anything you said to him too much to heart. It had been almost five years since Jonathan Bolt had died and left his sons on their own, and Jason was still learning. He knew that Josh responded best to reason, and could no longer be conned into following his older brother's lead, as he often was when they were children. And if all else failed, Jason knew he and Joshua could just yell at each other until they each got their point across and reached some kind of agreement. Jeremy, on the other hand, had always been a sensitive boy, which only became worse when their mother died and Jeremy suddenly began stuttering, and Jason still hadn't quite figured out how to parent him. It was Josh who usually looked out for Jeremy, alternately shielding him and prodding his younger brother through life.

"Do you know what's bothering him?" Jason asked after a moment, his tone much less confrontational than it had been a moment ago.

Josh shrugged again, shaking his head as he set down his ladle. "He hasn't said anything, and he dodges me when I try to ask. I thought about knocking him down and sitting on him 'til he spilled it …" he trailed off with a small smile; but when the mood didn't lift, he went on. "I think it's been going on since at least Christmas, though."

Jason looked up at him abruptly, startled. _Christmas?_ How had he managed to miss that? He'd had his mind on his business and not on his brothers, where it belonged, that's how. But if he didn't keep his mind on the logging operation, how was he going to feed his brothers?

Mentally shaking off the self-recrimination, he rose and disappeared into the tent. When he stepped back out, shrugging on his jacket, Josh's coat and a lantern in hand, Josh was standing, looking at him expectantly. "Are we going somewhere?" he asked.

"Thought I might take a walk into town," Jason replied, lighting a twig in the fire and touching it to the lantern wick. Josh was already taking the stew off the fire and putting the lid on the pot.


	2. Chapter 2

They made good time into Seattle, but night was still falling early this time of year, and it was almost full dark when they got there. A quick check at the cabin found it dark and empty, the fireplace cold and the beds untouched. As he shut the cabin door and looked across the small yard at Josh, who waited pale and silent in the lantern light, something cold and disturbing clutched at Jason's stomach, and he could see it reflected in his brother's eyes.

"Well, he must be around here somewhere," he said encouragingly, not certain which of them he was trying to reassure. "He wouldn't just wander off."

"Maybe he's at Lottie's," Josh suggested. The local saloonkeeper had been a friend of their father's, and a sympathetic ear for each of the brothers at one point or another. If something was wrong, perhaps Jeremy had stopped in to talk it over with Lottie.

But a visit to the saloon only revealed an entire roomful of people who hadn't seen Jeremy all day. Now truly worried, Jason began trying to organize a search party while an increasingly frightened Joshua looked on. Several of the men were more than willing to join the hunt, but their state of intoxication made it somewhat doubtful they could find the door, never mind a fourteen-year-old potentially lost in the dark on Bridal Veil Mountain. Aaron Stempel, owner of the local saw mill, provided the voice of reason that effectively ended the enthusiastic support of the effort to find the missing boy.

"Look, Bolt, you probably just missed him somewhere along the way – he's probably back up in that camp of yours, wondering what's happened to the two of you."

"And if he isn't?" Josh said tightly, angry at having their concerns brushed aside.

"If he isn't," Stempel said more quietly, now that Lottie's patrons were beginning to lose interest, "you'll have a much more sober search party in the morning."

Jason realized he'd have to concede defeat here, though it irked him to do so in front of Stempel, who had long been a rival. But if they went into the woods with this group, they'd only end up with more missing people. Nodding distracted acknowledgement to Lottie's heartfelt words of encouragement, he picked up the lantern from the bar and excused himself, striding back out into the dark with Joshua in his wake. Once outside, he stopped, unsure where to search next.

"What do we do now?" Josh asked.

"Where's the last place we know he would have been?" Jason was thinking out loud, working his way through the dilemma before him.

"The school?" Josh said uncertainly.

Jason nodded, decided. "Let's go see the teacher, Miss –"

"Halliday," Josh supplied, beginning to lead the way. "She lives in that house behind the school."

XXXX

As darkness descended on the forest clearing where Jeremy lay, he was aware of two things. He was getting sleepy, and he was getting worried. Surely Jason and Josh had missed him by now. Why hadn't they come? Maybe he was further off the trail than he thought. He wondered how he was going to get himself found, if he was too deep into the woods to hear them call. Last summer, when little Abby Lexington had roamed off during the Fourth of July picnic, search parties had combed the woods for hours, finally finding the little girl sitting on Lottie's back porch, playing with her doll.

That was probably what would happen. Jason would round up some help, and they'd search the woods along the trail. Jeremy wondered which would be worse: being found stuck here, a victim of his own carelessness, by Jason or Josh, or by someone else. He decided it didn't matter. It was getting cooler, now that the sun was down, and the eternal damp of Seattle was beginning to settle around him. He'd be happy to be rescued, no matter who did the rescuing.

But would they be able to look for him in the dark? The Lexington child had disappeared in broad daylight and been found before sunset. Maybe they'd have to wait until daylight to search. Jason and Joshua would look for him no matter what, he knew that; but if they didn't know where to look and no one agreed to help them … he knew he didn't want them to go crashing through the underbrush in the dark and get hurt, looking for him.

He had decided that he hadn't been injured, either in the fall or by the pine trunk across his legs, beyond some bruises. His feet were starting to go to sleep though, and he had to keep wiggling his toes to keep the circulation going. He was never going to live this down. Josh would tease him forever – and heaven forbid the boys at school found out. He'd have to go live on the other side of the mountain, like a hermit. If Jason didn't ground him into his next life for fighting at school.

It wasn't that the Bolt brothers were inclined to shrink from fights; on the contrary, Jason was a firm believer in defending what was yours. But he also believed that his brothers should take every advantage of the opportunity to learn – there hadn't been a school in Seattle when Jason was a boy, and he had done most of his book learning at his mother's side. He didn't want them to do anything that might jeopardize the chance they'd been given.

Jeremy couldn't remember his mother, not really. He remembered how comforting it was to hear her voice, calling to him to wake up and come to breakfast; but he couldn't remember what her voice sounded like. He knew she was beautiful, but he couldn't remember what she looked like. He remembered she could make everything right with the world, with hardly an effort. And he remembered feeling that the world had ended, when she died. Jason and Joshua had worked hard, especially since their father died, to keep the memories alive for Jeremy, but it just didn't seem to be the same.

He angled his head to look up at the few stars he could make out among the tree branches above him. Maybe he'd be spending the night here, and get found in the morning. How cold would it be tonight? Cold enough to freeze? He didn't think so. Cold enough to be uncomfortable, though – maybe even dangerous. What did Jason say about surviving in the cold? Keep moving, and stay awake. Well, he wasn't going to be moving without some help, but maybe he could keep himself awake until morning. He could try that branch as a lever again, in a little while, just to break the monotony. He could do his homework in his head. What about the history lesson? Was it the Constitution?

Drawing breath, he began to recite, "We the p-p-people –" and stopped. No, he didn't want to recite right now. Maybe something else. He could sing without stuttering – he did that all the time. What was that song Josh had been singing as they worked last weekend? Josh was always coming home from somewhere with new songs. Something about ships, and some New England whaling town ….

XXXX

A few minutes after leaving Lottie's, two troubled young loggers were pounding on the front door of the little cottage the people of Seattle supplied for their schoolteacher.

"Miss Halliday?" Josh called. "It's Joshua Bolt! Please open up!"

Jason shot his brother a surprised glance – Josh had finished school before this teacher had come to Seattle, and had never been one of her students – how would she recognize his name? But then he remembered that Miss Halliday had loaned Josh a few books over the long winter, encouraging him, with Jason's somewhat amused blessing, to further his education even after he had finished school, and Josh had eagerly welcomed the opportunity to keep learning new things.

They heard the sound of the latch being lifted, and then the door opened to reveal a small, dark-haired, bespectacled woman with a bewildered look on her face. In the lamplit room behind her, Jason could see a desk covered with papers, obviously waiting to be graded.

"Joshua, whatever is wrong?" the woman asked with some concern, pulling her shawl more closely around her shoulders.

"Miss Halliday, this is my brother, Jason. We're sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but Jeremy didn't make it home after school; at least, he wasn't there an hour ago," Josh explained quickly. "Did he maybe say anything at school about going somewhere else this evening?"

Miss Halliday paled visibly, one hand drifting up to the cameo pin at the high neck of her blouse. "Oh, dear," she murmured. Then remembering herself, she stepped back and opened the door more widely. "Please come in."

Once seated by the fire in her neatly furnished little home, she related to them the incident in the schoolyard earlier in the day. "Honestly, I knew they had been tormenting him about his speech, and I prevented it whenever I could. But I had no idea it had reached the point of fisticuffs until I stepped out to call them in after lunch, and saw Jeremy strike that dreadful Harry Kinkade." At Josh's look of surprise, she explained with some embarrassment, "I know a teacher should like all students equally, but some of them just vex a person beyond all tolerance, and Mr. Kinkade is one of those students."

"Did you happen to notice which way he headed when he left the school?" Jason asked.

Miss Halliday thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I believe he was headed up the trail that leads to your camp." Looking back and forth between them, she added with dismay, "Gentlemen, I never meant to embarrass him into hiding; I've been teased since childhood about these glasses of mine, and I know that's only a small thing, compared to what Jeremy's been tolerating. But I have to deal decisively with schoolyard fights, to prevent them becoming a regular activity."

"I understand that, ma'am," Jason said, rising and reaching to shake her hand as reassuringly as he could. "You did what you had to do. I'm sure this is just a bit of miscommunication, and he's probably back up at camp doing his homework by now."

Josh had risen as well, now, and Miss Halliday escorted them to the door. "I'm sure that's the case, Mr. Bolt. Do let me know if I can be of any assistance."

Standing in the yard between the house and the school, Josh clutched the collar of his jacket closer around him until Jason handed him the lantern. "Where to now?"

"Let's head back up to camp. Maybe we'll turn something up on the trail." They started toward Bridal Veil Mountain, the lantern light forming a sphere around them that held back the darkness.

"It's getting colder, Jason."

"I know, brother."


	3. Chapter 3

By silent agreement, they walked the edges of the trail, Joshua holding the lantern between them. Having talked to Miss Halliday had both clarified some things for Jason, and alarmed him even further. He had held some hope, when they left Lottie's, that Stempel had been right – that Jeremy had stayed a while in town, then started home while Jason and Josh were checking the cabin. With the timeframe now more clear in his mind, Jason knew that Jeremy had left town an hour or two earlier than he had hoped, and that he had been headed for their camp. They hadn't passed him on the trail, which could only mean he was off the trail somewhere. As big as he knew their mountain to be, it suddenly seemed infinitely bigger.

But why was he off the trail? Jeremy wouldn't have gotten lost – he had walked this path almost every day for four years, since the Bolt brothers had started cutting timber on their mountain for their neighbors to build homes with. Even off the trail, he knew these woods inside and out. Endless possibilities tumbled through Jason's mind, like autumn leaves caught in the wind from off the Sound. Bears, cougars, wolves … even Indians weren't entirely unheard of in the forests surrounding Seattle. If Jeremy wasn't in camp, Jason was going house-to-house through the whole community, raising an army to find his brother.

Across the trail from him, Josh suddenly picked up the pace, the lantern swinging wildly as he half-jogged towards an oddly-shaped shadow sticking out of the underbrush. Holding his breath, Jason rushed to join him – if they'd walked right by the boy in their rush to get to town earlier, he'd never forgive himself ….

Joshua was kneeling, picking up one of the objects that had caught his attention. Looking up as Jason crouched beside him, he said, "Jeremy's history book." Heaped together at his knee were a few more books, a slate, a nearly priceless pad of paper, and a familiar lunch pail. Before Jason could respond, Josh stood, lifting the lantern high and glaring into the gloom of the underbrush below the trail. Jason rose at his side, drew a deep breath, and shouted their brother's name into the darkness.

XXXX

Jeremy was cold. There was no getting around that, no ignoring it. He had burrowed into the leaves as deeply as he could, and huddled in on himself as much as his awkward position would let him; but he still shivered violently, and the chattering of his teeth was making it hard to keep singing. Of course, he was running out of songs, anyway. He had sung every song he could think of. If he knew another song, he couldn't remember it. He'd have to get Josh to teach him some more. In the morning, when it was light enough for his brothers to find him.

How long had he been out here, anyway? It certainly seemed like forever. If he'd had time to sing all those songs, maybe it had been. He'd just have to start again, and sing them all over. The forest sounded too big and loud without the sound of his voice, now, anyway. But first he needed to rest his voice for a minute. Resting actually sounded good.

He never seemed to get enough sleep these days. Long after Jason and Joshua were snoring in their bunks, he would still be awake, his mind going around and around the events of the day, trying to find a better way to get through it, one that didn't leave him open to Harry and his crew. He knew Josh had noticed – how, he hadn't a clue – but he thought he had managed to keep it from Jason.

Jason worried a lot more than he used to. When Papa was alive, Jason could always be counted on for an impossible story or lively game to keep his little brothers amused and out of trouble – usually, anyway. And he was still like that some of the time; but he had turned a lot of that energy to finding ways to keep a roof over their heads. Starting a logging business had seemed pretty natural to all of them, since they didn't have much besides trees. Some of the older men in town had pressed Jason to sell out and move his brothers closer to civilization, but they soon found that Jonathan Bolt's sons had inherited their father's stubbornness as well as his mountain. And the business was growing, as Seattle was growing, as Jeremy and Joshua were growing. Jeremy looked forward to the time he could pull his own weight in the operation; with both his brothers to help him, maybe Jason wouldn't have to put so much of himself into his work, and could have more time to relax, now and then. In the meantime, Jeremy wasn't going to give him anymore to worry about than he had to.

But right now, he was cold, and he was tired. He needed to keep singing, or something – why was that again? Maybe if he closed his eyes for a few minutes, he'd remember.

Startled, he forced his eyes open. He couldn't go to sleep here! But he had, for a moment or two, at least. What had wakened him? Blinking hard to keep from nodding off again, he concentrated on listening.

XXX

"Jeremy!" Jason called again, and this time Joshua echoed him. They both paused to listen, straining their ears, trying to filter out the night sounds of the forest.

"Did you hear that?" Josh whispered suddenly. Jason shook his head, and after a moment, Josh called again.

This time, from somewhere below them in the darkness, Jason heard it.

"_Joshua?_"

Josh began to plunge into the underbrush, but Jason grabbed his shoulder. "Easy, brother, or we'll run right past him."

Josh nodded, and together they picked their way carefully down the mountainside, calling repeatedly so they could center in on Jeremy's replies. After a few minutes, they came upon a collection of fallen pines; and approaching it, found Jeremy huddled on the other side, pinned by a tree trunk as big around as the boy himself was. Scrambling cautiously to him, Jason and Josh knelt on either side, Josh hastily setting the lantern out of the way, as Jeremy tried to roll onto his back where he could see them both.

"Jeremy, what happened?" Jason asked, running an affectionate hand through his brother's hair. The boy looked miserable – he was covered in mud and dead leaves, his shirt was soaked through from the night mist, and he was shivering so hard his teeth rattled.

"I'm s-s-s-stuck," he whispered hoarsely, indicating the log with his chin.

"Well, I can see that," Jason replied, almost laughing from relief. "Let's see about getting you out of there, all right?" Jeremy nodded vigorously, his hair falling into his eyes, and Jason looked up at Joshua across from him. "Get him under the arms, and when I lift the tree, pull him out."

Josh shifted around behind Jeremy and slid his hands under his brother's shoulders, linking his fingers across the damp shirt, while Jason moved over to stand by the offending trunk and find a good hold. When Josh nodded his readiness, Jason lifted slightly, and Josh pulled. Jeremy bit back a yelp of pain as legs that hadn't move in hours suddenly shifted, and he grabbed at Josh's arm across his chest for support as he was rolled onto his back at last.

Dropping the pine trunk where it would be out of the way, Jason quickly bent to pat down both of Jeremy's legs. If there were broken bones, they were a long way from help. He might have to send Josh for a wagon – Lottie would loan them hers – but they would still have to get him up to the trail. And there was no doctor in Seattle …. Relieved, he realized that nothing had been broken, although he suspected that the backs of both Jeremy's lower legs would be badly bruised, when they got into some decent light.

Looking up, he found Joshua still holding Jeremy supported against his own chest, with both arms across the shivering form and breathing a little heavily from the exertion of pulling, heartfelt relief in his face and every line of his body. Jason realized in that moment how frightened Joshua had been, that they might not find Jeremy. He had known, of course, that Josh was worried, but in his own concern, his brother's fear hadn't registered. Josh looked up suddenly and met his gaze, and drawing a deep breath, nodded. It would be all right now.

After a moment, during which the loudest sound in the clearing was Jeremy's chattering teeth, Josh asked, "Are you all right?"

Jeremy nodded. "C-c-c-cold," he breathed, and Jason stripped off his own jacket and started wrapping it around him with Josh's help.

"Let's get you home," Jason said as he worked. "Can you stand?"

"Hmm?"

Jason reached for the lantern and moved it closer to study his brother's face. Jeremy was fighting hard to stay awake, but he was starting to lose the battle. He smiled softly at the dazed look in the boy's eyes.

"Never mind, little brother; we'll carry you."


	4. Chapter 4

It was actually Jason who did the carrying; Joshua handled the lantern, steadying Jason on the short climb back to the trail, and even managing to scoop up Jeremy's books and lunch pail when they got there.

"Which way?" Josh asked, holding the lantern up so that he could see Jason.

"The cabin's closer," Jason decided, "and warmer, once we get the fire started."

When they came in sight of the little building, Josh hurried ahead, leaving the lantern on the doorstep to light Jason's way. By the time Jason had gotten inside, Josh had a small fire going on the hearth and was digging sheets and blankets out of their mother's linen chest. He met Jason at the door, bringing in the lantern and shutting the door behind them.

"I'm going to need your help here, Josh," Jason huffed; Jeremy had grown too big to carry around like a child. "He's sound asleep."

Between them, they got him settled in his usual place on the bottom bunk and began pulling off his wet clothes. He began to wake as Joshua tugged at his boots, stirring against Jason's chest as the oldest Bolt tried to hold him upright and get his shirt off, and made a weak attempt at pulling away.

"Wha – cut it out, Josh; I'm tryin' to sleep."

Joshua stopped in mid-tug to study him a moment, then gave one more pull and the boot came free. "Take it easy a minute, and you can sleep all you want."

As soon as they had him down to his long johns, they let him lay down and heaped him with blankets. He shifted against the pillow a moment, settling; then heaved a deep sigh and sank into sleep again.

After a moment, Jason rose from beside the bed and moved slowly around the cabin, locating the lamps and oil and preparing to light a few from the lantern. He stopped uncertainly when he realized Joshua hadn't moved and was still watching Jeremy with a puzzled look on his face.

Jason frowned. "What is it, Josh?"

Joshua startled at the sound of his name, and looked up. "Nothing. I just never noticed it before."

"Noticed what?"

"When he talks in his sleep, he doesn't stutter."

Jason found his gaze drawn almost involuntarily to the sleeping boy in the bed; then Josh moved toward him to help light the lamps, and the moment was past.

XXXX

Friday morning found Joshua reading by the fire, keeping an eye on the still-sleeping Jeremy. Jason had gone up to camp to meet Big Swede and Dutch, to let them know where to start and what to try to accomplish, since they would be working without the Bolts today. He was also going to bring down the ledger book, so that he and Josh could spend some time in the afternoon catching up on their bookkeeping. Josh expected he'd be doing most of it himself, though. Jason had spent most of the night watching over Jeremy while Josh slept, and he was going to get his older brother to rest today if he had to tie him down.

Jeremy, on the other hand, was showing signs of sleeping for the rest of the year, at least. They had agreed to let him wake on his own, but Josh was beginning to wish it would happen soon. Jeremy had stirred once or twice since Jason left, and Josh found himself fighting the irrational urge to drop his book, loudly, just to have someone to talk to. It was too quiet in the little cabin; and Josh wanted to find out what had happened to Jeremy on the way home. Jason had made him promise to wait on that subject until he got back from camp, if Jeremy woke up before then.

Jeremy shifted again on the bed, and Josh got up to take a closer look. As he watched, Jeremy's eyes drifted open, closed, then popped open again, looking around in alarm. Josh quickly sat down on the side of the bed, catching Jeremy's arm as he moved to sit up.

"It's okay. You fell asleep coming home last night."

Jeremy looked at him blankly, then glanced away momentarily, apparently sorting through his memories of the previous night. Then he relaxed and eased himself back down on the pillow, nodding his understanding. "Where's J-Jason?"

"He went up to camp for a little while, to get Swede and Dutch started. He'll be back in a bit. How're you feeling?"

Jeremy shrugged, giving his brother a half-hearted attempt at a reassuring smile. "Tired and s-sore, mostly."

"How about hungry? We saved you some breakfast." When Jeremy nodded, Josh rose to go to the fireplace and spoon a bowlful of oatmeal from the pot that waited there. Jeremy was already sitting when he returned.

"Thanks," Jeremy said, and would have gone on; but at that moment the cabin door opened and Jason came in with the ledger tucked under his arm, his face breaking into a huge grin when he saw Jeremy.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up! How are you this morning, brother?"

"I'm f-fine, and I wish everyone would q-quit asking," Jeremy replied, but with a smile to soften it.

"Good, good. Sorry I took so long, Josh – I had to clean up in camp. We just left that pot of stew sitting there. It's a wonder a bear didn't roam in and tear the place apart."

Josh looked over at Jeremy in time to see his brother look away, concentrating on the oatmeal as if it were the most important thing in the world. A glance at Jason revealed that he had seen it, too; Jeremy wasn't happy about having caused such an uproar. Time to change the subject.

"Well, I guess we should take a look at those books," Josh said, wincing inwardly at how awkward that sounded. They couldn't just dance around this all day, though, the matter of the fight and whatever had drawn Jeremy off the trail. Sooner or later they were going to have to discuss it.

Jeremy put his spoon down in the half-empty bowl and held it out toward Josh. "G-guess I wasn't as h-hungry as I thought." Josh took the bowl, and Jeremy slid back under the covers, rolling over to face the wall. "I'm going to g-get some more sleep."

"All right," Jason said neutrally, shooting Josh a look that spoke volumes. "You can have some more later. Josh, let's go bring in some more firewood."

To Josh's ear, that sounded even more lame than his own subject-changing attempt earlier, but he went along anyway, setting the bowl on the table and following Jason outside to the woodpile. Once there, Jason turned and leaned against it, gazing speculatively back at the closed cabin door. Josh waited, propped beside his brother; but Jason didn't seem inclined to say anything, and after only a few moments, Josh couldn't stand it any more.

"He'd just woken up when you came in. He's avoiding us by pretending to sleep."

"I know. Look, Josh, how about if you head over to the school. They probably haven't started yet, and Miss Halliday will worry if he's not there. See if you can get his lessons for today; it'll keep him busy over the weekend."

Josh didn't see how that was going to help anything, but he didn't suppose it would hurt, either. "All right. But you've got to get some sleep while I'm gone."

Jason smiled tiredly and nodded. "All right; done."


	5. Chapter 5

Joshua arrived as the last of the dozen children that made up Seattle's tiny student body scrambled in the door of the little schoolhouse. Following them in, he found a scene familiar to him from his own not-so-distant past, as children milled in the aisle, settling books and papers and finishing conversations, while the teacher reviewed her plans one more time at her desk. From the back of the room, he picked out Harry Kinkade, and was perversely glad to see the boy's nose was still swollen.

"All right, everyone," Miss Halliday called, "Time to – Mr. Bolt?" she noticed him as everyone else in the room began to find their seats.

Nodding a greeting, Josh went down the aisle to meet her, noting concern on her face as she no doubt wondered why he was here, instead of Jeremy. "Good morning, Miss Halliday. My brother won't be able to come to school today; I've come to get his lessons."

Someone snickered behind him – probably that obnoxious Kinkade kid – but Miss Halliday looked even more alarmed. "Why, certainly, Mr. Bolt. I do hope nothing serious has happened."

The room had grown unexpectedly silent, everyone waiting to hear what he would say. "Actually, he was hurt while hiking through the woods yesterday, and it took us quite a while to find him. It doesn't seem to be too serious, though. He should be back on Monday."

"Oh, I'm glad he's all right. Just a minute, and I'll make a list."

Josh used the pause to examine the schoolroom, letting his gaze linger on Harry and the kid beside him, both of whom seemed intensely uncomfortable with the scrutiny. _Good_, Josh thought. _Let 'em squirm._

"Here you go, Mr. Bolt," Miss Halliday announced, handing him a list of chapters and page numbers. "Please remind Jeremy that Family Night is two weeks from today, and I still need to see his project outline. I'll look forward to seeing him Monday."

Josh frowned slightly. This was the first he'd heard of either a Family Night or a project. "Yes, ma'am, I will." He nodded to her again before turning back down the aisle, this time purposely not looking at anyone, and headed for home.

XXXX

By mid-afternoon, the Bolts were finally all up and about again. With the lunch dishes cleared away, Jason decided it was time to broach the subject of Jeremy's schoolyard fight. Jeremy had been avoiding all but the most unavoidable conversations, no doubt in fear that it would somehow get back around to school – he was not usually that shy with his brothers. Jason had considered a number of ways to bring up the topic, but when the time came, he settled for the straightforward approach.

"Jeremy, when you didn't get home on time last night, we stopped to check with your teacher." They were seated around the table, Jeremy reading through his geography lesson while Jason replaced a button on Josh's Sunday shirt and Josh checked some figures in the ledger. They had been silent for some time, and both his brothers looked up when he spoke, Josh in mild surprise and Jeremy bordering on sudden panic. Jason resisted an urge to put himself between his youngest brother and the door.

After a moment, Jeremy dropped his gaze to the stack of books at his elbow; then he opened one and withdrew a folded piece of paper from it, which he extended across the table to Jason.

"What's this?" Jason asked, taking it but not opening it.

"The n-note from Miss Halliday." Jeremy drew a deep breath, and suddenly it all came out in a rush. "I didn't mean to h-hit him, Jason. It just happened b-b-before I could think. I c-couldn't s-s-stand it anymore –"

"All right, all right, calm down. Miss Halliday told us what's been happening; there's no need to go over all of it again."

"I'm surprised it took you this long to pop him one," Josh put in, earning a reproachful look from Jason.

"Jeremy, you know folks like that only pick on others to make themselves feel more important. When you respond to them, it only –"

"I _know_ all th-th-that, Jason; we've been over and o-over it. It doesn't m-matter," he finished, his voice dropping to almost a whisper as he looked away again. "It isn't y-you they're p-picking on."

Jason sat back in surprise, at a loss as to how to continue. Jeremy's level of agitation was clearly evident in his increased stuttering. A glance at Josh showed the middle Bolt firmly in support of the youngest, so there would be no help there. Jason decided to try another subject.

"All right; fair enough. We'll leave that alone for now. How did you get off the trail last night?"

To his further astonishment, Jeremy turned crimson up to his ears. Before he could ask what this was all about, Josh spoke up again.

"They followed you, didn't they?" When Jeremy all but squirmed at the question, he knew he had it. "They followed you and hassled you again, and got you to chase them off the trail. After you already knew you were going to catch it for fighting the first time."

"It wasn't just me," Jeremy said softly after a moment. "They m-made fun of Miss Halliday, too."

Jason sighed and rubbed at his face in frustration. They'd been around and around this issue, in various forms and guises, since Jeremy had been a small boy. No matter how much they tried to explain it to him, no matter how much they tried to protect him, there would always be someone who found it amusing to belittle people who seemed different, or vulnerable. In a way, Josh was right: it _was_ a wonder that Jeremy hadn't responded by striking back before now.

"We're going to have to work out a punishment, you know," Jason finally continued.

"I know." Jeremy still wasn't looking at him, concentrating instead on fiddling with his pencil.

Jason glanced at Joshua, considering, but found he didn't have the heart to come down too hard. "You'll be doing all of the dishes for the next two weeks, in addition to your regular chores."

Jeremy looked up at last. That was far lighter a sentence than he'd expected, considering the offense. After a moment's stunned silence, he realized he had better respond, before Jason changed his mind, and nodded agreement.

"All right, then," Jason said, "get back to your schoolwork."

They settled into companionable silence for a while, until Joshua remembered something. "Hey, Jeremy, Miss Halliday wanted me to remind you about some project for something called 'Family Night.' She wants to see your outline."

Jason looked up with interest, and Jeremy sighed. _Was there no end to this?_ He kept his eyes on his book. "I'm not going to do a p-project."

"Aren't you being graded on this project?" Jason asked, suspecting he already knew the answer.

Jeremy looked up, frustration in his eyes. "Jason, I c-can't speak in front of all those p-people – I can't!"

"Do you have to speak?" Josh asked after a moment. Forcing a public speaking assignment on a student with a speech impediment didn't sound like something Miss Halliday would do.

"Well –"

"_Do_ you?" pressed Jason. "Did Miss Halliday say you had to speak?"

Slightly stunned by the realization, Jeremy replied, "N-no."

"Maybe there's a way to do the project that doesn't require you to speak to a crowd of people," Jason suggested. "Perhaps you could ask Miss Halliday."

Jeremy appeared to give that some thought, then shook his head doubtfully. "I d-don't know, J-Jason …"

"Won't know until you try," Jason replied encouragingly. "Just give it a little thought. I know you'll come up with something."


	6. Chapter 6

Jason made a point of not mentioning the project or the incident at school for the rest of the weekend, and when things started changing, he almost didn't notice it. His brothers were disappearing together every time they had a few minutes to spare, and being very secretive about the whole thing. He quickly stopped asking; all Joshua would tell him was that Miss Halliday had approved Jeremy's project, and that Jeremy had sworn him to silence. In the end, all that seemed to matter was that Jeremy's mood of the last few weeks was slowly lifting, and Jason could see a small glimmer of self-confidence in the boy's eyes now and again. By the time Family Night finally arrived, Jeremy was apprehensive, but not panicked; Joshua was practically bouncing with anticipation; and Jason was ready for pretty much anything.

They arrived shortly before the project presentations were to begin, and Jason looked around at the familiar faces in this unfamiliar setting. Bolt Brothers had donated timber to the building of the school and assisted in construction, but Jason had spent very little time here once it had been completed, mostly to pick up assignments for a sick brother, or occasionally to meet with the teacher about Joshua's methods of defending Jeremy. The whitewashed walls were covered with drawings and stories by the younger students, created both for this evening and for other assignments as well. The chairs had been pushed back against the walls to make space in the middle of the room for socializing; the desks themselves had been moved to Thompson's barn for the evening. As Jason stood near the entrance with his brothers, Joshua pointed to a figure across the room.

"Look, even Lottie came."

Jason smiled. "Well, let's go over and say hello."

"Um, you go ahead," Josh said, shooting Jeremy a conspiratory glance. "We'll catch up with you later."

Recognizing that his brothers were not-so-subtly trying to lose him, Jason gave in and left them, crossing to where Lottie stood at one side of the room, absently watching the families milling about. Stepping up beside her unnoticed, he leaned down close to her ear.

"Good evening, Lottie."

Startled, she jumped slightly, and turned to face him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Jason Bolt! You're lucky I didn't have a cup of punch, or we'd both be wearing it!"

"Well, I saw you over here by yourself, and just had to remedy the situation at once."

The saloonkeeper looked slightly uncomfortable. "I know I don't have any children in this school, but Essie was kind enough to invite me, and I know so many of the parents – well, the fathers are regular customers, anyway. And since a lot of them are here instead of at my place tonight, I decided to leave Ken in charge and join the party."

"An excellent idea – and you're part of our family, and always welcome at family functions. Besides, if you hadn't come, _I_ would be standing here alone, since my brothers have abandoned me."

"Uh-oh, sounds like trouble to me," Lottie smiled, knowing all the Bolt brothers well. "Where did they sneak off to?" Another idea came to her. "Is Jeremy going to get up in front of all these people?"

"I don't know, on both counts," Jason replied, slightly more somber than before. "As I understand it, he doesn't have to give a speech, but I don't know how else he would give a presentation. He and Josh have something in the works, though."

The conversation ended abruptly as Miss Halliday stepped to the front of the room and raised a hand for silence. There was a brief shuffling as everyone found their places, and Jason and Lottie stepped back against the wall to be out of the way. Across the room, Jason could see Jeremy taking a seat with the other students, and identified the Kinkade boy several seats away. Joshua was nowhere in sight, but Jason was at a loss as to what that might mean.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome," Miss Halliday called over the diminishing noise of the gathered families, and all conversations finally ceased. "Thank you for coming to visit with us this evening and giving us the opportunity to show you what we've been learning. Our younger students have displayed their work around the room, and if you haven't had a chance to view it, I hope you will do so later. Our five older students have prepared presentations on subjects that we have covered this term, and we'll begin those presentations now. Afterward, we hope you'll join us for some refreshments, and congratulate our students on the fine work they've been doing. Ivy Lawrence will begin this evening's program."

Miss Lawrence's presentation was on the geographic regions of France, complete with a handmade map and some questionable-looking hors d'oeuvres on the refreshment table. This was followed by three recitations, one on the Battle of Bunker Hill by Harry Kinkade, one by Jack Hiel on different types of animals found in the Seattle area, and then Violet Lexington's presentation of some Shakespearean sonnets. Joshua still hadn't turned up yet, and Jason was beginning to worry that he would miss Jeremy's presentation if he didn't appear. Jeremy didn't seem to notice that only one of his brothers was in attendance.

Miss Halliday took the floor again to introduce the next student. "Thank you, Miss Lexington. Next we have Jeremy Bolt, who has taken a somewhat different approach to this project, different enough that we saved it for last."

Jason heard snickering, and glanced over to see the Kinkade boy elbowing the boy beside him, only to turn in surprise when his father leaned up from the row behind him to swat the back of his son's head. Satisfied, Jason returned his attention to the teacher, who was continuing as if she hadn't heard.

"Last year, just before Christmas, we explored immigration. Everyone in Seattle immigrated from somewhere, or is the child of immigrants, and we took advantage of the holiday season to learn about our families' customs and traditions, and to share them with one another."

Jason remembered that project, and the constant questions from his youngest brother as he tried to learn as much as he could about parents he hardly remembered.

"Mr. Bolt's parents came here from Scotland, and this evening he is going to share some of the music they brought from their homeland."

As the import of this statement began to sink in for Jason, Jeremy rose uncomfortably and picked up his chair, taking it with him to the front of the room while looking expectantly toward the door. There Joshua materialized at last, working his way across from the entrance with two guitars – his own, and the one he and Jason had given Jeremy for Christmas. Passing Jeremy's instrument to him, he snagged a chair of his own and positioned it beside Jeremy's, both of them taking a seat. After a moment's pause to check their tuning and agree on a tempo, they began to play.

Jason was at first stunned, then impressed, and then simply mesmerized. He had never been able to sing like his brothers – some errant hereditary anomaly, since both of their parents could sing. Jeremy did all the singing, with Joshua only adding harmony occasionally and playing along with him. They performed hymns their mother had sung on Sundays, when they lived on the east side of Bridal Veil Mountain and couldn't come into town for church often, and ballads she sang while working around the house. They even sang one of the old Highland battle songs that their father had belted out while walking home of an evening. With the music to guide his words and Joshua beside him for support, Jeremy seemed like a different person, relaxed and confident, not worried about the people around him, or even aware of them. They sang and played for nearly half an hour, while the audience listened in silence or clapped along, depending on the selection. At some point – Jason never noticed when – Lottie slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, leaning against his shoulder to listen in fascination. Finally, both younger Bolts looked up in Miss Halliday's direction, and Jason realized regretfully that the concert was over.

As the audience broke into applause, Jeremy and Joshua rose and bowed self-consciously – they weren't accustomed to this part of performance – and Miss Halliday joined them at the front of the room.

"Thank you, gentlemen, for sharing your wonderful music. Let's give all our students another ovation for their excellent work."

Suspecting that not many of Seattle's citizens actually knew what an "ovation" was, Jason started clapping, and was quickly joined by the rest of the gathering. As the applause died away, Miss Halliday continued.

"This concludes the formal portion of our program. We hope everyone will be able to stay and enjoy some refreshments, and congratulate our young people in person. Thank you again for coming."

As the audience broke up into smaller groups, roaming the room and sampling the food, Jeremy and Joshua returned grinning to Jason's side, each receiving enthusiastic hugs from Lottie Hatfield.

"Oh, well done, boys!" she said. "That was beautiful! If I ever feel the need to hire entertainment, I know just who to ask."

"I couldn't say it better myself," Jason added, putting an arm around Jeremy's shoulder. "That brought back some wonderful memories for me. Did Josh teach you the songs?"

"Some of them. Others, I j-just needed the ch-chords."

"He came up with this on his own," Joshua said, beaming with pride nonetheless. "I was just along for the ride."

They were interrupted at this point by the parents of one of the younger students, who wanted to tell Jeremy how much they enjoyed his music. They were the first of many who stopped to speak, including the Kinkades, dragging their reluctant son behind them. Jeremy stayed glued to Jason's side through it all and gripped the neck of his guitar as if he were trying to strangle it, but he managed a smile and a nod for each person. Joshua smoothly intercepted any question Jeremy seemed uncomfortable in answering, not wanting anything to dim his brother's tenuous, hard-won self-assurance. The rest of the evening passed in a blur, and before they knew it, they were home in their cabin, getting ready for bed.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Joshua asked from his top bunk, seeing Jason settling into their father's chair by the fire with a book.

"Not yet. I thought I'd read for a while." Miss Lexington's sonnet recitation earlier had been quite nice, but she had left out some of his favorites, and he wanted to read through them again before he called it a night.

They passed a few minutes in silence, with the crackling fire the only light in the room. Jason though his brothers had fallen asleep, until Jeremy spoke up.

"Jason?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it okay that we k-kept it a s-secret?"

Jason lowered his book and looked up at his brother, barely visible in the dim shadows of the lower bunk. "Of course it is. And you did a wonderful job with it. I haven't heard some of those songs in years."

"Josh said you'd l-like it."

"Well, now and then, Josh makes some sense." There was a muffled snort of disgust from the upper bunk, and Jason smiled. "Now get some sleep. We have some catch-up work to do tomorrow, if we're going to finish that contract."

''Kay. G'night, Jason."

"'Night, Jason," Joshua added.

"Good night, brothers."


End file.
